Human Rights are…
Simple.
“Human rights are norms that aspire to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses. Examples of human rights are the right to freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial when charged with a crime, the right not to be tortured, and the right to education.”
(James Nickel in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Copyright © 2019)
We can further understand human rights as being composed on these basis:
- Human rights are rights.
- Human Rights are both the moral and legal entitlements (rights) of a person
- Human rights are plural.
- There are many human rights, not just one.
- Human rights are universal.
- All living people have human rights
- Human rights have high-priority.
- If human rights did not have high priority they would not have the ability to compete with other considerations such as national stability and security, individual and national self-determination, and national and global prosperity.
How do human rights come about?
Human rights come into existence is as norms of national and international law that are created by enactment, custom, and judicial decisions.
- At the international level, human rights norms exist because of treaties that have turned them into international law.
- Example: the human right not to be held in slavery or servitude in Article 4 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Council of Europe, 1950) and in Article 8 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (UN 1966) exists because these treaties establish it.
- At the national level, human rights norms exist because they have through legislative enactment, judicial decision, or custom become part of a country’s law.
- Example: the right against slavery exists in the United States because the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits slavery and servitude.
Whats the difference between a human right and a law?
When rights are embedded in international law we speak of them as human rights; but when they are enacted in national law we more frequently describe them as civil or constitutional rights. (Reference)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10th, 1948 by the General Assembly.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
This Covenant deals with the right to work in just and favorable conditions; the right to education; and the right to social protection, to an adequate standard of living and more.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
This Covenant deals with such rights as freedom of movement; equality before the law; the right to a fair trial and presumption of innocence; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; right of participation in public affairs and elections; and protection of minority rights.
Read what specific human rights are outlined in the UDHR and other International Covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights
Specific Human Rights of importance in Guatemala
There is immense ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic diversity in Guatemala. Despite this diversity, however, there is extreme intolerance and mistreatment of certain groups at multiple levels that results in many human rights violations.